Official Chart Pop Gem: Madonna – Open Your Heart

We show the Queen of Pop’s 1986 hit from the True Blue album a little bit of Pop Gem love.
madonna.jpg

We show the Queen of Pop’s 1986 hit from the True Blue album some Pop Gem love.

There’s not a lot to say about Madonna that hasn’t been said already. Master of reinvention, Queen of Pop, ambitious Material Girl – she’s been called them all. When you’re talking about a star as huge as Madonna, so globally hyper-mega-famous and instantly recognisable to any music fan, it can be easy to forget why she became such a massive icon in the first place: she is very good at being a popstar and has all the tunes.

13 Number 1 singles in the UK

Her track record speaks for itself. She’s reached the peak of the Official Singles Chart 13 times – her first was Into The Groove in 1985 – and has enjoyed 12 Official Albums Chart Number 1s. Hit after hit after hit in a career spanning almost 30 years, from that very first UK chart entry in January 1984 (Holiday, which peaked at Number 6) to her most recent Top 40 entry Give Me All Your Luvin’.

Birthday girl

So in celebration of Madonna’s 55th birthday today, we thought it was about to time we showed a bit of love for the lady who paved the way for Kylie, Britney, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and a host of other female solo stars. Throughout her career she’s been unapologetic about expressing her sexuality and is always ready to get frank when necessary (and quite often when not, but that’s our Madge).

The Pop Gem problem

But which of Madonna’s track to pick as a Pop Gem? There are so many. We decided to cut out the Number 1s straightaway – as much as we love Into The Groove, Vogue, Music, Hung Up and the rest, they’ve had their time in the spotlight. So what about the classic tracks that didn’t make it to the top? We threw it out to our followers on Facebook and Twitter. Most of the suggestions were absolute corkers and we debated long and hard at Official Charts HQ, but the honour had to go to Open Your Heart, which made Number 4 at the end of 1986. The track was picked by Facebook follower James Masterton, a man of impeccable taste.

The Number 1 that should’ve been?

Open Your Heart suffered, in a way, from following the mega smashes Papa Don’t Preach and True Blue in 1986. Its parent album – also called True Blue – was an essential in every pop lover’s Christmas stocking that year and selling like rather warm baked goods, so Open Your Heart may have been overlooked simply because all the other tracks were so huge.

1986 was a stellar year for Madonna. The four singles she had in the Top 200 of the year sold just over 1.7 million copies combined in 1986. Papa Don’t Preach was the big one, coming in 8th for 1986 and shifting 583,000 copies that year. True Blue comes in next, selling 495,000 copies in ’86, the 11th best seller of the year. Open Your Heart settled for 170,000 sales in 1986 – not bad to say it was released in December. It managed to sell another 40,000 in 1987.

That notorious video

Its video caused quite a stir when first released, and featured Madonna playing the role of what you might call an exotic dancer if you were describing it to your gran. The video was also the first look the world got at Felix Howard – the rosy-cheeked 13-year-old who went on to be a magazine cover star and even co-wrote tracks for Sugababes and Amy Winehouse when he grew up.

We’re not quite sure how Madonna feels about Open Your Heart. While it was a staple of her first three tours, it was pretty much ignored in Madonna’s live sets for 22 years, before reappearing in 2012’s MDNA tour. We, however, love it, like a favourite cardigan (cashmere) or extra scoop of ice cream. It always makes us feel good.

So here it is, a sadly overlooked Madge hit that we think deserves another stint in the sun.


Madonna - Open Your Heart on MUZU.TV.

Extra, extra: We very nearly chose Borderline, a big fan favourite and none other than Kylie’s fave Madonna track. Well, sorry, Kylie, but you should have logged into Facebook and nominated it. Maybe some other time?

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